Wire clip for ingot mold sideboard



Aug. 18, 1964 s. G. HAW 3,144,598

WIRE CLIP FOR meow MOLD SIDEBOARD Filed April 5, 1963 IN VENTOR.

hezwaod (:ZHaw F WW8 M4 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,144,698 WIRECLIP FOR lNGOT MOLD SIDEBGARD Sherwood G. Haw, RD. 1, Magnolia, OhioFiled Apr. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 270,928 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-261) Thisinvention relates to hot top means for ingot molds and more particularlyit pertains to a wire clip for securing heat insulating sideboards tothe inner surfaces of an ingot mold.

A sideboard is attached to each opposite side surface at the upper endof an ingot mold to maintain a reservoir of hot metal in the upper endportion of the mold during solidification of the lower portion of theingot. The sideboards may be composed of an insulation material toreduce the escape of heat from the molten metal through the side wallsof the mold, or the sideboard may be composed of an exothermic material.Such sideboards are frequently preferred because they are a relativelyinexpensive addition to the cost of manufacture which adds greatly tothe yield of an ingot.

A problem associated with the use of sideboards has been the provisionof adequate means for mounting and holding the sideboards in place.Various devices have been used, but more recently wire clips have beenadopted for attaching and holding the sideboards in place.

A difficulty with most wire clips used heretofore has been simply thatthey have not been satisfactory for holding the sideboards against thesurface of the mold when the buoyance of the liquid metal lifts thesideboard up and out of the mold.

The primary disadvantage of using a clip of such prior construction hasbeen that during the pouring of an ingot it became necessary to slowdown or even stop as the molten metal rises to and contacts the bottomof the sideboard to permit solidification of the steel at the bottomedge of the sideboard. Subsequent continued pouring may be done thenwithout the buoyant effect of the metal lifting the sideboard. Thedisadvantage of such hesitation or stopping is that the slag or othernonmetallic inclusions are poured into the body of the ingot when thepouring is begun again.

It has been found that a clip composed of wire-like members may beprovided which overcomes the prior art difficulties by providing aninturned end portion which bites into the side of the mold and holds thesideboards in place. The clips of prior construction have not beensatisfactory for that purpose.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a wire clipfor ingot mold sideboards having a configuration which operates againstvertical lifting forces such as the buoyant effects of the metal.

It is another object of this invention to provide a wire clip for ingotmold sideboards which holds the sideboards with sufficient lateral forceto cause greater than usual surface friction between the sideboards andthe surface of the mold.

Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide a wire clip foringot mold sideboards which substantially eliminates the difficultiesenumerated and obtains the foregoing desiderata in an effective manner.

These and other objects and advantages, apparent to those skilled in theart from the following description and claims, may be obtained, thestated results achieved, and the described difiiculties overcome, by theapparatus, combinations, parts, elements, subcombinations, arrangements,and constructions which comprise the present invention, the nature ofwhich is set forth in the following general statement, a preferredembodiment of which illustrative of the best mode in which applicant hascontemplated applying the principles'is set forth in 3,144,698 PatentedAug. 18, 1964 the following description and shown in the drawing, andwhich are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in theappended claim forming part hereof.

The improved wire clip of the present invention may be stated in generalterms as including an enlongated wire-like member having an intermediatestraight portion and downturned end portions, one downturned end portionbeing inclined at an angle of 103 to the intermediate portion and havinga lower curved extremity which is upturned at an angle of 46 to thevertical and is directed toward the intermediate portion, the otherdownturned end portion forming an eye extending above the intermediateportion and being inclined from a position above to a position below theintermediate portion, and at an angle of 60 to the intermediate portion,and said eye operating as a spring member for urging said other endportion toward said one end portion.

Referring to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment is shown by wayof example:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric View with portions broken away, showing themanner in which wire clips of the present invention are used to holdsideboards in place against the inner wall of an ingot mold;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view showing the wire clip incondition prior to use.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views ofthe drawing.

In FIG. 1 a mold is generally indicated at 1 and is preferably of thebig-end-down type of mold construction. A pair of sideboards 2 and 3 aremounted on opposite inner surfaces 4 and 5 of the mold where they areheld in place by clips 6.

The sideboards 2 and 3 are usually attached to the inner surfaces of amold as shown in order to reduce the amount of heat escaping from theingot during its solidification in the mold. For that purpose thesideboards 2 and 3 may be composed of insulation material. Thesideboards may also be composed of exothermic material which fuses uponcontact with the molten ingot metal for supplying heat to the reservoirof molten metal at the upper end of the mold. Inasmuch as thecomposition of the sideboards 2 and 3, whether composed solely ofinsulation material or exothermic material or a combination of both, islighter than molten metal surrounding it in the mold, there has been atendency for the sideboards to rise out of their position due to thebuoyancy of the liquid metal which defeats the purpose of the sideboard.

The clips 6 are preferably composed of rod or wirelike material such astype 1065-C or equivalent spring steel. For most ingot molds, thediameter of the material is 7 round. However, larger diameters may beused where longer clips are required for larger ingot molds.The clip 6is preferably fabricated from a single elongated segment of steel wireinto the configuration shown in FIG. 3 which includes an elongatedintermediate portion 7, one end portion 8, and another end portion 9.The intermediate portion 7 may vary in length from 8 to 18 dependingupon the thickness of the wall of the mold 1. The end portion 8 extendsdownwardly from the intermediate portion at an angle slightly greaterthan and preferably at an angle of 103. The lower extremity includes arounded portion 10 and an up turned member 11 which extends preferablyat an angle of 46 from a horizontal plane. The radius of curvature ofthe arc between the portions 7 and 8 as well as the rounded portion 10is preferably 1".

The other end portion 9 likewise extends downwardly from theintermediate portion 7 and preferably at an angle of 60 thereto. Theportions 8 and 9 are interconnected by an upturned loop or eye 12 havingthe preferred radius of curvature of 1". The loop 12 holds the endportion 9 at the preferred angle of 60 and inclined at an anglesubstantially parallel to the other end portion 8.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the clip 6 is attached in place the endportions 3 and 9 extend downwardly on opposite sides of the wall of themold 1 with the intermediate portion disposed across and over the upperend of the wall. The clip 6 spans the mold and the sideboard and holdsthe end portion 9 out of its natural position or angle with theintermediate portion 7. The sharp corner of the upturned member 11engages or bites into the outer surface of the mold wall. As a result ofthe tensional forces created between the portions 8 and 9, the clip 6holds the sideboard 2 tightly in place against the inner surface 4 ofthe wall of the mold 1. Accordingly, the compression on the sideboard issufficient to more than offset any buoyant effect of the molten metal asit rises above and around the sideboards 2 and 3.

Due to the spacing between the outer surface of the mold and the endportion 8, it is relatively easy to install the clips 6 in place,because the spacing is sufficently large for insertion of the fingers ofa person attaching the clips in place. The tension created between theend portions 8 and 9 is at least ten times greater than the tensioncreated between the end portions of wire clips of prior construction.The arrow 13 shows the direction of tensional forces applied by the endportion 9 against the sideboard 2. It is sutficient to hold thesideboard tightly in place.

Any effort to raise the sideboard out of place is defeated by a sharpcorner 14 of the upturned member 11 biting into the mold wall surface.As a result of the foregoing, where it is necessary to remove the clip 6for any reason prior to pouring of molten metal into the mold 1, the endportion 8 must first be pulled to disengage the corner 14 from thesurface of the mold. Any other attempt to remove the clip, aside fromthe application of excessive force, is substantially ineffective.

The device of the present invention provides a wirelike clip for holdingand maintaining sideboards in place against the inner surface of aningot mold. The clip is an improvement over clips of prior constructionbecause it is designed to apply great lateral force .4 tion in which itis placed. As a result, the wire clip of the present inventionconstitutes a greater improvement over clips of prior construction andsatisfies a great need in the art.

In the foregoing description certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness, and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom as such words are used for descriptive purposes andare intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiment of the improved construction illustrated anddescribed herein is by Way of example and the scope of the presentinvention is not limited to the exact construction shown.

Having now described the invention, construction, operation and use of apreferred embodiment thereof and the advantageous, new, and usefulresults obtained thereby; the new and useful Wire clip for ingot moldsideboard and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to thoseskilled in the art are set forth in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A wire clip for attaching a sideboard to the inner surface of an ingotmold including an elongated wire composed of resilient material such asspring steel and having an intermediate straight portion and havingdownturned end portions, one downturned end portion being outwardlyinclined at an angle to the intermediate portion and having an inturnedlower curved extremity of substantial length and terminates in a freeend which extends beyond the connection of said one downturned endportion with said intermediate straight portion and has a sharp straightedge thereon which is directed toward the intermediate portion, theother downturned end portion forming a loop extending above theintermediate on the sideboard to hold it in place against the innerportion and being inclined from a position above to a position below theintermediate portion, said other end portion being substantiallyparallel to said one end portion, said loop operating as a spring meansfor urging said other end portion toward said one end portion and thespring means when the clip is in use also urging said sharp edge intobiting engagement with an associated ingot mold.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,287,772 Anthony June 30, 1942 2,988,793 Withee et al June 20, 19613,002,238 Orrison Oct. 3, 1961 3,016,591 McWhorter et al Jan. 16, 1962FOREIGN PATENTS 640,654 Germany Jan. 11, 1937

